One of ( EG) Whitlam’s first acts as Prime Minister, which (Jenny) Hocking brushed over approvingly, disclosed a disturbing and persistent failing—his vetoing of the New Year Honours List for 1973 submitted by the McMahon government. Whitlam ignored the generous conduct of Frank Walsh who as incoming South Australian Premier confronted a similar situation after the 1965 election.
Walsh forwarded the honours list submitted by the outgoing Premier, Sir Thomas Playford, to the Palace remarking that he had no wish to disappoint the expectations of those already notified of their inclusion.
[ The Parliament dissolved, 11 November 1975 ]
...Neville Wran....
Neville Wran as an incoming Premier after defeating Sir Eric Willis in 1976 was to conduct himself similarly and for the same reason.
Whitlam’s precipitate action revealed his imperviousness to this consideration—and worse.
Out of respect for those who refuse honours the authorities take great care to ensure that they are bestowed only on those willing to accept them.
When questioned whether those in the list he had torn up had been notified of their awards Whitlam retorted that he had been advised that they had not been.
Apparently he expected those who raised this issue to believe that the authorities responsible for a list due to be published in less than a month, which included the Christmas break, would have left that all-important preliminary still to be completed.
Either Whitlam’s adviser, if there was one, had misled him or he himself was being misleading.
Whitlam’s approach to a distinctively Australian honours system—one he was determined would depart significantly from the Imperial system—exhibited that very same mean-spirited caprice.
By making it a slavish copy almost to the last detail of the Order of Canada—itself a substandard product by design—Whitlam ensured that the highest class in his Order of Australia (Companion or AC) would have insignia comparable to the third class in multi-class Imperial Orders, the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) being an example.
He thus deliberately set this Australian Order apart from almost every foreign Order, whether conferred under monarchical or republican auspices.
Consequently when heads of state visit Australia officially there can be no exchange of Orders, as with most state visits elsewhere, for a painfully obvious reason—such visiting dignitaries would consider themselves short-changed on receiving the AC in exchange for the top class of any Order they might present to the Governor-General.
Here is a campaigning New Zealand republican who also wants New Zealanders to pay more taxes. Is that to pay for his politicians' republic?
[ Haka for The Queen of New Zealand]
He is former politician, Steve Maharey, now vice-chancellor of Massey University. He is a sociologist.
Writing in The New Zealand Herald on 22 November, 2013 he presents ''a list of a dozen areas we might focus on.... a core agenda for change."
Two of the twelve are: "Become a republic - we need to know what it means to belong to 21st century New Zealand,'' and '' Collect more tax: we do not pay enough tax to build the kind of society we want to live in.''
Readers will not be surprised that the word "we" appears almost 40 times in this opinion piece.
Read more below. (Incidentally we are not calling on The Queen to choose who should be Governor-General. The advice will still come from the PM as it has since 1930).
The current 2013-2014 Test cricket series between England and Australia has culminated in an Australian victory.
The Australian cricket team celebrates winning the Ashes after capturing the final wicket of Jimmy Anderson at the WACA.
Australia reclaims the Ashes at the WACA
The Ashes is the notional prize in a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The Ashes are regarded as being held by the team that won the last Test series between those sides or, if that series was drawn, by the team that last won such a series.
Sir John Warcup "Kappa" Cornforth, AC, CBE, FRS, FAA (7 September 1917 – 14 December 2013), was an Australian–British chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1975 for his work on the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalysed reactions. He was the only Australian to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
He was named the Australian of the Year in 1975,jointly with Maj. Gen. Alan Stretton. He was knighted in 1977
Allen Leech, who plays Tom Branson on the hit PBS show, has told the US TV host Andy Cohen that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge mentioned their feelings about the show on a recent gathering. "He actually said, 'I'm a big fan of the show—only now that my wife's had a baby,'" Leech continued.
In the next series - the most popular on Australian Television, Lady Rose — played by Lily James — is presented by her Aunt Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) during her "coming out" to King George V and Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace.
Prince Harry has reached the South Pole after a three-week charity trek with injured military veterans from Britain, the United States, Canada and Australia.
The Prince and 12 soldiers reached the globe's most southerly point on Friday following a 320 kilometre journey across the frozen wastes of Antarctica, organisers said.
The expedition was initially conceived as a race but it was abandoned due to concerns about the safety of the participants, some of whom lost limbs fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.
However, the teams decided to continue their trek, dragging 70-kilogram sleds through the bitter cold and high winds.
...the wind dropped down ....
Prince Harry, 29, who serves as an army helicopter pilot, joked earlier this week about the expected arrival date of Friday 13, which he said was "unlucky for some, lucky for us", according to a report by Agence France Presse.
"The wind has dropped down, which is nice. I think everyone is feeling a bit tired but slowly getting into the rhythm," he said.
"Only just got into the rhythm now and it has almost finished."
The veterans have endured temperatures as low as minus 35 degrees Celsius and wind speeds of around 80 kilometres per hour.
[Photo: Prince Harry (R) during ski training in Novo, Antarctica ahead of the charity trek. AFP: Robert Leveritt: WWTW ]
The image below is of the knighting by King George V on the battlefield of one of our greatest generals - arguably the greatest allied general in the First World War - Sir John Monash
Knighthoods should have been restored, as we proposed, after John Howard and General Peter Cosgrove liberated East Timor. General Cosgove should have been the first.
In our recent petition, we propose a number of criteria for future Governors-General. Apart from eminence in their chosen field, and other criteria we suggest and additional one, that the Governor-General be willing to accept the award of such high honours as Her Majesty The Queen may be pleased to confer.
There is a section on the restoration of knighthoods and dames on the ACM site.
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